This invention relates to paintball marker and paintball marker frames. More particularly, the invention relates to a paintball marker frame or other component or part of a paintball marker which is configured to have a special attachment or connector piece received thereon or connected thereto whereby an air system and/or air storage device, typically but not necessarily in the form of an air tank, can be releasably attached to, and removed from, the paintball marker frame or other component or part of a paintball marker.
Paintball markers, also known as paintball guns, are used in the increasingly popular paintball sport for firing paintballs or paint tags. A paintball marker typically comprises a frame, a body containing a number of air passages controlled by valves, a barrel and a paintball magazine. In conventional operations, paintballs will be fed from the paintball magazine into the body, and the pulling of the trigger will release highly compressed air through the passages in such a way so as to provide the necessary force to expel the paintball from the body through the barrel thereof. Most paintball markers derive their power from the use and channeling compressed air to effect discharge of paintballs, and the compressed air is usually carried in special air tanks or canisters which attach to the paintball marker. The tanks are usually physically connected to the paintball marker which will thus support it and pneumatically connected to the passages in the body of the paintball marker, so that the necessary compressed air will be able to flow from the inside of the tanks through the air passages to thereby provide sufficient pneumatic force to expel the paintball, as briefly discussed above.
In order for the air tank or canister to operate properly, it must first be connected to the paintball marker which will thereafter hold it firmly in the desired position relative to the various components. Once this has been done, the appropriate tubes from the air tank need to be connected to the valves or other parts of the paintball marker and thus the airflow pneumatic pathways within the body of the paintball marker so that the compressed air in the tanks can be suitably directed to effect the discharge of the paintball.
It will be appreciated that a fully charged air tank can be of some considerable weight, and it is therefore a benefit to design and construct a paintball marker and air tank such that the air tank is connected easily and efficiently, and also does not significantly upset the balance of the paintball marker. Thus, an ergonomic design of a paintball marker and air tank combination, as well as an efficient and speedy mechanism for easily connecting and disconnecting them from each other, are both important aspects and characteristics of the present invention.